


The sins of the father

by stumpyy



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Marriage of Convenience, R plus L equals J
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 17:18:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7323949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stumpyy/pseuds/stumpyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon is set on solidifying Sansa's claim in the North, whether it would involve marrying her or Daenerys Stormborn. </p>
<p>They know better than anyone that secret love is better as just that, a secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The sins of the father

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All settings and characters belong to George RR Martin. This is purely for fun and I am not making any profit from this work.

When Jon proposes to her in front of the heart tree Sansa is lost for words. Whilst her conscious mind can comprehend that he is no longer her brother, in fact, he never was, but there is still a feeling of apprehension that she can’t shake. Marrying Jon could give her everything: affection, safety, and a family that she lost and craved to have again ever since. It could also make her everything that she swore she would never become, deep in her mind she still feared becoming one of her tormentors, she feared becoming Cersei. 

The soft press of his lips brought her back to reality, a reality where Jon was everything that was good in her current situation. He was her sword, her shield, her light in this sea of darkness. Sansa needed him more than she needed anyone else in her life, but she needed time to process this. She was in the Great Game now and every step could cost her her life. Or worse, it could cost Jon his. 

“Meet me here in a moon’s turn, Jon,” she breathed against his lips, “There is no need to rush our future.” 

———

But time, as it turned out, wasn’t on their side. With winter, soon came the Dragon Queen and with her came words of an alliance. And Sansa knew better than anyone, perhaps, that the easiest alliances come through marriage. 

“As you can well imagine, Lady Stark, the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms aren’t exactly full of eligible men suitable for a Royal match,” Daenerys spoke with a calm authority. “More precisely, I had a choice between a kid, a Kingslayer, and my own kin.” 

“I understand completely,” Sansa replied, “Jon has made a fine ruler in the North, I am sure he will make for a fine Consort, Your Grace.” Perhaps if Sansa wasn’t as good as she was at hiding her emotions Daenerys would have seen how Sansa’s world shattered there and then. But Sansa did learn from the best, after all. 

Jon was all about his Stark sense of duty. Here was an opportunity to give Sansa all she wanted ever since she abandoned her childhood fantasies. Winterfell, hers to keep, the Northern houses rallied behind the true-born daughter of Eddard Stark and hope for the Seven Kingdoms without war and death. But through giving her all that, Jon has taken away the one thing that she has come to cherish above all else. 

She wished she could tell him all that but that opportunity was gone, missed more sorely than any other in her lifetime. Surely, the way he looked at her as if she was simultaneously the toughest and the most fragile thing in the universe will soon be just a memory, and even that will eventually fade out of existence.

“I love you, Sansa. Time, distance and all my newfound titles can’t touch what we have,” he tried to reassure her on his last night in Winterfell. “I’m sorry that I could give you the life you deserved” 

“None of us get the life we deserve Jon, we both should have learned that by now.” 

———

As Warden of the North, Sansa was expected to attend the tourney in King’s Landing as part of the festival celebrating the Royal marriage. Whilst somewhat less extravagant than the tourneys during the reign of Robert the festivities still managed to make a good show of the prosperity of the royal family without seeming too insensitive to the needs of the smallfolk.

It was indeed pleasant to see a show of strength where losing did not mean death, Sansa thought. It was a true marvel to see Jon defeat knight after knight in the joust. After the final tilt, Jon rode to the main benches carrying something that made some members of the audience gasp, a crown of winter roses.   
Catching Sansa’s terrified gaze, Jon offered her a smile, small enough so only she would notice.

“To Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of Love and Beauty!” 

Sansa’s relief washed over her like a tidal wave, together with the unrelenting roar of the audience. It was up to their parents to make the mistakes of the past, she thought, but it was up to Jon and Sansa not to repeat them.


End file.
